Elements of Peace
by BBEN
Summary: The Elements of Peace, created thousands of years ago to unite Equestria, are waiting for new ponies to claim them. But, with those 6 ever find them? Or stop Solips, the one who caused Equesria to act like it did, from repeating history? The tale unfolds.
1. Chapter 1

Long ago, before the time of Discord or Princess Celestia's rule, there was another spirit just like Discord. His name was Solips. He was the sole reason why Equestria was split up into city-states. Every town looked for itself. They all fought over the lush land and it's valuable resources. It was thousands of years before six powerful unicorns came together and planned to stop Solips and end all this selfishness and hostility he had caused. Their solution was the Elements of Peace. Resolve, courage, morality, maturity, freedom, and amity. Armed with these elements, the unicorns stopped him and the corruption that plagued the land and unified Equestria. After their accomplishment they gave these powerful jewels to a near extinct race called wolves. They called themselves The Pact and lived in the high mountain range called World's Edge, resting on the edge of pony known territory to the southeast. They kept to themselves and tale of the Elements of Peace had died along with the ponies that lived though the ordeal. Today, they are still hidden somewhere below the surface of Equestria, their guardians waiting for a new band of heroes to prove themselves worthy enough to reclaim them.

Brother looked in the mirror, making sure he looked good. He never knew if a pretty filly might notice him. His black mane and dark brown coat looked good. And with the help of his jet black glasses and goatee, he looked damn handsome. "Hey Mom," Brother Brave yelled over his shoulder, "I'm going to hang out with Eli!"

"Ok, be sure to come back before dark."

"Alright." He quickly opened the door and closed it. He stepped out into the apartment hallway where he lived. He turned to the staircase and saw one of the elderly of the complex.

"Hello Mr. Coins," he said with a nod, continuing to walk to the staircase. The old pony looked at him and gave a warm smile.

"Why, if it isn't Brother Brave. It's been quite a while since I heard you sonny. How have you and your mother been? You been behaving well for her?" Brother chuckled and nodded.

"We've been well sir and yes, I have been good for my mom." Mr. Coins nodded in approval, content with his answer.

"That's good. I was worried I had to give you a lesson in respect." Brother chuckled once again and reached the door to the staircase.

"Alright, alright. Well, anyway, I have to get going. Meeting a friend at the park."

"You behave yourself and live up to your cutie mark." Brother nodded and went though the door. He looked to his flank and saw his light grey and yellow cutie mark. It was a shield and a cross within it. It stood out like a sore hoof against his coat. He pushed up his glasses and started down the staircase. The story of how he got his cutie mark began to seep back into his mind. He was around six when he received it.

He was friends with this one filly. It had been years so he had forgot her name. All he remembered was her face and body and voice. She had a nice orange coat that was soothing to the eyes and a yellow mane which had tied into a ponytail. Her voice definitely wasn't what you usually heard in Manehattan. Most either sounded all fancy and somewhat snobbish or you sounded normal. Though, those pony usually were part of the poorer community in Manehattan. This filly sounded like she was from the country. The most wired thing is that she never let him go to her house or apartment and she had never introduce him to her guardians. It was like she was hiding him from them. But, when they did hang out, they had the most fun. Playing in the park or going to one of the many fast food places near his house. It one one day that changed him forever. When he was walking to their usual get together spot he has seen that she was being harassed by two older ponies. She had her hair styled in that fancy way and these ponies didn't seemed to like it at all. "Comon you high nose nob, give us some bits. Ponies like us have to work hard to get whatever food we can. And that's usually not enough." They began to close the gap between the filly, even though she was walking backwards.

"I-I don't have any bits on me. My aunt and uncle never give me any-"

"Bullshit!" the same pony yelled, getting right in front of her face. His partner circled around her and made sure she didn't escape. The filly saw him and got even more frantic then before. "You can give us all your bits, or..." he grinned in the most sinister way Brother had ever seen, "we can take something else." That was when Brother drew the line. He would not let his only friend be harassed any longer. He ran in between the pony in front of his friend and puffed out his chest, trying his best to look tough.

"You jerk, leave her alone!" he yelled. His heart was racing. What if this didn't work? What if him and his friend got beat up? _"No regrets,"_ he thought, _"this is my friend. I'll die protecting her."_ The big pony looked down at him and gave him a face that seemed to say "who the fuck are you?" The pony brought it close to Brothers and said,

"And what are you gunna do small fry?" What was he gunna do? He was way smaller then the pony before him. If he got into a fight, he would instantly lose. _"My horn..."_ He looked up at his horn that matched the color of his coat and then back at the pony. "I'll hurt you with my magic!" Brother yelled. The pony looked unamused. In the blink of an eye the pony back hoofed Brother, who fell to the side. "Out of the way," the pony said nonchalantly. Brother's face stung as if thousands of bees swarmed his face. Hot tears streamed his face as the two big ponies grabbed the filly.

"Brother!" the filly cried out. _"Die protecting her."_ That phrase echoed in his mind. He wished he was stronger. He wished he knew a spell that would help. Rage started to build up. He put the pain aside and stood back up.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. His horn actually began to glow a faint white, slowly getting brighter and brighter. The older ponies, who had let go of the filly, notices this and started to step back. Brother closed his eyes and what happened next was a mystery to him. All he heard was the older pony shouting "fuck!" and them running away. When he opened his eyes the filly had ran up and hugged him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Brother smiled but felt his face burn a crimson red.

"Hey, you're my friend. I protect my friends." They stood there for a minute, but felt like an eternity to Brother. He really liked it. It made him feel happy, made his heart bang against his chest, and, most strangely, felt... just right. The silence was broken when the filly had opened her eyes when a white flash emmited from Brother's flank.

"Brother, look." She had pointed to his flank. He knew what that meant. When he turned around his cutie mark had appeared. The grey shield and yellow cross looked so amazing. It defiantly what he wanted to do. He wanted to protect everypony and be the good guy.

Brother shook his head and went back to reality. It had been over ten years since he had seen that filly. After the amazing rainboom incident, she had disappeared. "Man, never thought about that in a long time," he said quietly to himself, "better focus on the present." He looked forward and realized he had made it to the ground floor. "Well then," he said before opening the door and exiting the staircase. He walked out into the lobby and saw Eli waiting for him. Brother had an eyebrow raised. He thought that they were suppost to meet at the park, not the lobby of his apartment complex. Eil instantly noticed him and flew faster then anything he'd seen.

"Brother!" he shouted as he stopped just in time to avoid tackling Brother.

"Woah there man, what's wrong?" Brother asked. Eli wouldn't show up show up inside the apartment and then almost truck him if it wasn't something important.

"I need to tell you something. It's important." He knew it. The most odd thing was that Eli's face was dead serious. Not a hint of fun or joking was visible.

"About what?" Brother said. He had began walking out of the complex and into the great city.

"About leaving Manehattan."

Morning, it comes way to damn fast.

Emerald Night had awoken to his family arguing with each other, even though they where on separate floors. He began his usual morning routine. Getting up, going downstairs, shower, eat, then the best part , Flight school. Emerald was a Pegasus, like the rest of his family, and most ponies in Cloudsdale, with the exemption of that light brown earth pony who he had for a science teacher. Regardless, he walked to the bathroom, while his family had not notice that he was awake. He slipped into the shower and turned it on. Heavy steam filled his lungs and the hot water soaked his coat and mane. Memories of his life, up until now, played like a film reel. He remembered when he first started flight school with a friend of his, Soarin. They had been buddies since, well, almost the time they had been born. They spent the weekends training, flying, and all sorts of adventures. As long as he had his pie for lunch, you where set for 12 hours of energy. "Breakfast is ready! We need to go soon!" Snapping back to reality, Emeralds mother, a deep olive colored mare with a forest green mane, was on the other side of the bathroom door. He dried his mane and looked into the mirror on the wall. The same tall, mildly muscular colt as everyday. With the same mild length mane, split between jet black and dark green, same wings, same olive eyes, same silver-ish olive colored coat. Though, what the one feature he loved the most, was his cutie mark. The two crescents. One silver and the other of a lime green. The unforgettable day he had gotten his odd cutie mark played back into his head.

It was around the afternoon. His parents and sister where out at here jobs, flight school was let out early. But there he was, hiding inside one of the many closets in his house while robbers looted his house. The house was dimly lit and it was very hard to see. He moved out from the closet and tried to make his way out of the house. Shadows protected him most of the was until the most spectacular thing was shown out the window. A sonic rainboom. All the windows in the house shattered from the colorful blast. One of the robbers was standing next to a window when it had happened. He jumped back like it was lava and covered his eyes. He began to shout and swear that some glass got into his eyes. "Hey, Cartkicker. Where the hell are you! I cant see a anything!" Blood dripped down his face as he walked around the silent house. No response. Emerald had hit this "Cartkicker" in the back of his neck, thankfully making him fall into unconsciousness instead of death. The rainboom had a different effect on Emerald. It had triggered some kind of ability that his body locked away. A light green tint made everything visible to him. Every single detail in the dark was now in clear view. For once, he had the advantage. As the other bandit walked around bumping into furniture, Emerald tackled him at full speed, sending him flying through the shattered glass window, unconscious.

The cutie mark, a combination of the darkness of night, and the light of the moon. Stealth and survival.  
>"You're going to be late! Come on and grab some oats before we leave!" Mrs. Night shouted from behind the door. At that point she turned away from the bathroom door and walked to the door that lead to the apartment hallway.<p>

"Alright, i'll be out in a second!" he replied. He left the bathroom and and followed his mother. But he instead went to the kitchen. His breakfast was sitting on the table, lukewarm. He wasted no time in devouring the oats that filled the bowl. After a quick wipe to the mouth he raced out the door. After taking the elevator down and going through the main lobby he walked outside stopped at the end of the sidewalk that separated the complex and the city's street. Carriages pulled by teams of two ponies filled up most streets of Manehattan. It was usually the ponies who had no significant talent and needed something to do to survive that pulled the carriages. It wasn't the best life but it was their only choice. He turned around to see his mother walking towards him. She stood right next to him, giving him a quick look, and then looked out into the street.

"Are you sure you want to go to that interview? If you get the job, it's extremely dangerous. Couriers go everywhere. Including places overrun with monsters." Emerald just chuckled. He looked at her and said,

"Of course I do. This is a good paying job. Plus, my only opportunity to get out of this city and see all of Equestria." His mother nodded and jumped up, hovering over the ground.

"Well, then what are you waiting for. Got to that interview and go make your name known." Emerald smiled at his mother's confidence in him as she flew away. He lifted off and began to fly over the street. He began to think about his soon-to-be job. A few days ago he had seen a flyer that said there was a need of Pegasi that could deliver packages all across Equestria. Emerald had called the courier manager about it. The manager had said that he wanted to interview Emerald, saying that he needed a skilled pegasus for it. "_Won't be that hard. I'm a pretty good flyer."_ Still, even though that was true, there was always the chance that some other pony could get the job. He just had to go 120%. The somewhat fresh air lashed at his face. He had to squint to see. _"Almost..."_ The post office was coming up quickly. It didn't really mattered if he was off by a bit or not, just would take a while to get to the front door. Plus he'd make a pretty cool intro. The tall building that had the sign "Post Office" was starting to get bigger and bigger. Suddenly, he turned downwards and slowly started to descend to the post office. As he was a few yards from the front door he held out his wings and let them act like a parachute. He touched the ground right at the door and with the little speed he had he used to open the door and quickly walk into the building. The word "swag" would come to mind as he walked though the main lobby and stopped at the receptionist.

"I'm here about the courier job." he said with a grin. The receptionist took a quick look at him and went back to her paperwork.

"The manager is on the top floor, first office on the right at the end of the hallway." Emerald nodded and walked to an elevator. When he pressed the up button the doors opened up. He walked in and watched the doors shut before moving his hoof to the other buttons. _"Well, here we go,"_ Emerald said.


	2. Chapter 2

"I know how dangerous it is, but I need this job. For the money and to travel. It's a pegasi instinct to not be pent up in this city, especially because of the restricted fly zone. By Nightmare Moon's Palace, I was lucky that a law enforcer didn't see me fly to the post office." Emerald said as he hovered above the ground and Brother Brave, who had a worrisome frown, slowly walked from Manehattan to their destination.

"But what about our families?" Brother asked, looking up to the pegasus.

"They'll be perfectly fine. Besides, I already asked my mom to help yours if she ever needed it."

"Still... Who would be there to protect her from thugs or robbers or other dangerous ponies?" Brave asked, his voice filled with worry.

"Who would be HERE to protect ME from monsters or thieves? This is my biggest job yet, something... classified," Emerald stated, looking around. "Besides, you could always use the training. You said you wanted to be a royal guard. You sure as Nightmare Moon's palace won't get better in a crowded city," he finished with a smirk.

"Fine, I guess your right." Brother sighed.

"Great! Now, I have rations for 2 days and some camping supplies." Emerald listed.

"What about first aid? My magic may be able to heal basic wounds and broken bones but it won't bandage anything up."

"Like I say," Eli said, pulling a red box out of his saddlebag. "Gatta be ready for anything." Brave chuckled at his best friend. He always did think ahead, that prepared bastard.

"Alright, alright. Where in Nightmare Moon's Palace is the road leading to Ponyville?" Emerald shrugged and decided to fly up higher. It was indeed strange that they had not seen a rode turning to a side. The rode that they were on was leading them to the Everfree Forrest. Defiantly a bad idea. "We've been walking for an hour and there is still no turn. You sure the map is right?" Brother yelled loud enough so Emerald could hear. Emerald, now above the canopy, was surveying their surroundings for any sort of turn down the seemingly endless rows of trees. Adding to the difficulty, fog started to settle right as he landed.

"I can't see anything up there." Emerald said with a sigh. His face started to show the same worry Brother had. Brother sighed and just shook his head.

"Well fuck."

Two hours later, it was getting dark and it seemed like they where barely a quarter in, from what Emerald saw. "I think we should set up camp before the storm heads in" Brave said as he looked up at the dark grey clouds. Thunderstruck nearby.

"Good plan." Emerald answered with a nod, "And I don't know about you, but I'm tired as ... I dunno, something that get's tired easily." Brother chuckled and started to look around. They eventually found a clearing and started to set up a fire along with a tents. Once they had the fire ignited, they where both having trouble with the tent. "Gahh! Can't you just "magic" the tents up?" Emerald yelled in frustration as he moved his head the the side to look at Brother who was on the other side, trying his best to put it up. He sighed and said,

"I can try, but you know I'm terrible with those kinda spells. I focused more on combat and healing ones." Emerald let out another yell in frustration before sighing in defeat.

"Okay, i'll get more firewood. Just do what you can for this tent, alright?" Emerald ordered. Brave nodded and let a small grin creep along his face,

"Sure, but if you don't come back in 10 minutes, I'm assuming your dead." Emerald mock saluted and flew off. Brother sighed and went back to putting up the tent, half doing it himself and half using his magic to put some pieces together and holding them in place.

"That colt is gunna get himself killed."

Emerald felt the somewhat comforting wind lash against his face. Flying through this open clean air sure as Nightmare Moon's palace brought back some good memories. Early flight school drills with his close friends was the first one that came to mind. He would always have a race with Morning Sprint or Northern Breeze after classes were finished. Those were the good 'ol days. Emerald snapped out of his day dream. He had a job to do and he can't fail. He made a sharp turn to the ground and landed easily. He started to look around for any branches that would make decent firewood. He picked up every branch what was good enough and put them in his bag. He continued his search, carelessly putting his face close to the ground. Bad choice. After about eight minuets of looking for firewood he notice the dry soil turn to cold stone. It took him half a second to realized he had stumbled onto a cave. He looked up and saw something he wish he hadn't. A sleeping Manticorn with a pile of unrecognizable bones next to it. The stench of rotten meat and decay was thick in the air, almost to the point of nausea. Doing his best to hold in his breakfast, he slowly walked backwards and hoped it didn't wake up. Yet another bad choice. As he backed away he stepped on a rib, causing it to brake in half and generate a loud noise. The Manticorn opened one cat-like eye and stared at Emerald before opening the second. "Oooooh shit," he said quietly, stepping back even more, "Uh, nice kitty?" A nervous smile spread across his face. None of that prevented the Manticorn from letting out a blood curling roar that made Emerald cringe. Within the minuet the Manticorn leaped at Emerald and swung a paw. He was lucky that he was fast enough so only the beast's claws barely sliced him. He flew out into the cave entrance and yelled out for Brother, hoping he was in a shouting distance.

It took a while but the tent was finally set up. He may had to improvise here and there but at least it was decent shelter. Brother took a step back to admire his handy work. It was tough doing it by himself, even more challenging due to him using levitation magic. Now that he thought about it, me may as well practice using it. It may come in handy some day. Brother looked at the ground and started to look for small objects to levitate. There was a surplus of small rocks and sticks lying about their camp site. They would make excellent practice. His horn glowed the same colour as his coat. Every small object in a two yard radius began to float. His first goal was to keep them all floating for a minute or two. He was able to do that perfectly. Next, he would spin them all around, make a mini tornado. That's when things got messy. Some of them just fell to the ground when he moved them. Others flew through the air when he started to spin them. He let them all drop and sighed. "Yeah... gunna need a lot of work." he mumbled to himself. As he was about ready to do it all over again he heard a yell maybe a half a mile away. It was Emerald. "Damnit Celestia. Eli! Hold on!" Eli was what he usually called him. It wasn't a bit too long to say and it didn't make him sound like he liked jewelry. Brother galloped through the forest, avoiding all of the trees and their roots. Meanwhile, Eli did his best not to get swatted out of the sky, landing some kicks as a bonus. The Manticorn was completely enraged at that point. It swung it's paws wildly in the air in hopes to catch the annoying fly. Eli saw that he was winning the fight and eased up a bit. The Manticorn took the advantage and almost landed a direct it. It did, however, got one of his wings. With his right wing badly hurt and bleeding, Eli was grounded. Intense pain took his senses as he curled up into a ball. _"Brother, hurry."_ he thought. And as if sent by Celestia herself, there he appeared, making a showy entrance. "Heya mothafucka!" he yelled with a grin, rushing the Manticorn, who was surprised by Brother's appearance, and kicked him with everything he got. The Manticorn roared in pain and turned his attention to the new meat. But, as he tried to hit him, Brother summoned a giant shield. The Manticorn's paw bounced off of it. Not understanding why it wasn't breaking the shield, it just kept striking it, making no progress to even scratch it. As the shield held the monster at bay, Brother looked around him to see if there was anything he could use for offence. He saw it. He started to levitate a long, think, pointy stick. He hoped for it to land on the monster's body or one of it's paws. Instead it landed right in it's left eye. Blood was everywhere within seconds. It let out a terrifying roar of pain and trashed about, tearing down trees as it headed off into the dark forest. Brother wasted no time in going to Eli's aid. "'Ey, you ok there?" he said as he picked him up by the left wing.

"Y-yeah. Just a flesh wound." Eli responded with a slight grin. It quickly turned into a painful frown as they began walking. Brother's horn glowed as his healing magic went to work. "Thanks man." He was already feeling better. "At least we have firewood." He gestured to his saddlebag filled with the sticks he had gathered. Brother just shook his head.

"The most important thing is that you're alive. Could of died, bro." Eli didn't say anything else. Brother felt his uneasiness and sighed. "But yeah, it was a good thing you got the firewood." he said with a slight smiled. Eli returned it and nodded. They slowly began to make their way back to camp, avoiding any natural obsticals that would be difficult for Eli. It took them a while but they made it back safely. But, once the view of their hard work came in sight, their hearts sank. The clearing that they had set up the tent and their supplies had been ransacked and destroyed. "Oh come on!" Brother yelled, "It was fucking hard to put that tent together!"

"The package!" Eli got out of Brother's grasp and limped to the slightly torn package. "I can't believe it's not taken. Maybe Celestia is smiling down at us."

"If she was, you wouldn't have a broken wing and our camp would be still here."

"Who cares? What doesn't kills us makes us stronger. Come on, we have to find new shelter."

"What about the Manticorn's cave?" Brother said as he walked to Eli, helping him walk again. Eli shook his head.

"Smells like shit. Plus the beast might come back. Maybe Celestia will smile down at us again." After he said that, it began to rain.

"What about Celestia smiling down on us?"

They marched through the cold rain, getting their hooves extremely muddy. Their noses began to run and they sniffed loudly to prevent the mucus from falling down their faces. It had been hours since they had to wing it. It must have been midnight and yet they were still sluggishly moving. They were about to give up hope of finding shelter until a faint light caught Eli's eyes. "Brother, over there, I think I see light." Brother looked up from the ground and saw it too. With a nod he started to walk to it. The warm light brought back their hope, causing them to walk even faster and ignore the cold rain and their exhaustion. Celestia was smiling on them. They found a nasty looking tree with a door on it and decoration all over the branches. The light was coming from a window, along with the smell of something delicious cooking. Brother walked up to the door and knocked. A zebra answered the door.

"It is far past light, who could be here tonight?" Brother and Eli stared at the zebra for a moment. In all their lives they have never seen one in real life, only read about them in books.

"Um, we are miss. You see, we come from Manehattan and we've been traveling all night. We fought off a-"

"Child, come in and have a meal, you have been through quite the ordeal." She stepped aside and allowed the two in. They were eager to get out of the rain and have a hot meal. Inside there was even more exotic things. From exotic decorations to bottles willed with herbs. In the center of the room was a giant cauldron, fire burning under it and steam coming from the top. "This was to be my dinner for tomorrow, but it you can borrow." Eli and Brother nodded. They way the zebra talked was a bit funny but she seemed nice enough. Plus she was giving them food and shelter.

"Um excuse me, but do you have any herbs that will prevent infection and some bandages? My friend needs them ASAP." Brother said as he laid down Eli down to get him and himself some stew.

"That I can do, just focus on the brew." she replied as she took bottles down from their strings. Brother turned to the stew and looked inside. Pieces of potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes floated in it. It smelled AND looked delicious. He looked around and found two large wooden bowls. He used the spoon that was used to stir it to pour it into the bowls. After they were both filled he brought Eli's first and then got his. The zebra was rubbing herbs on his wounds and them wrapping them up.

"Hey, we never caught your name." Eli said as she was bandaging his wing.

"Zecora is my name, I must ask the same." She must have meant what was their names.

"I'm Emerald Night, That's Brother Brave."

"But just call me Brother." he quickly added.

"I have a job to travel to Ponyville and deliver this package." Emerald opened his saddlebag and took out the wrapped up package. Zecora examined it for a moment and nodded.

"Ponyville is where I can take you, but you have sleep to go through." She went into another room and came back out with some extra pillows and blankets. As she did they both devoured their meal. "It is not much but, I'm in quite the rush." Eli nodded,

"I understand, I guess." Zecora blew out the fire under the cauldron and began to blow out the other lights. "May you have wonderful dream, may they not have any screams."

"Yeah, good night to you too." Brother said as she went to bed. "Man, she's one interesting character." He had place a pillow under Eli's head and put a blanket over him before getting into his make shift bed.

"Yeah, but interesting is better then dull. Plus she's helping us get to Ponyville."

"If everypony is as colourful as her, I want a cut of your pay." Eli chuckled,

"In your dreams."


	3. Chapter 3

The skies over Ponyville where clear, not a cloud in sight. Perfect for flying! A rainbow maned pegisus flew at an incredable speed, doing backflips, barrelrolls and cork skrews. _"At this rate, i'll be in the Wonderbolts in no time!"_ she thought. She saw herself standing next to the legendary pegasi fliers in their trademark jumpsuits and her in one of them. A roaring crowd cheering them on for more tricks and all of them giving them what they wanted. But then the dream shattered to the sound of knocking at the door "Grr, why is it always the good ones...?" she growled. Reluctently, she got out of her bed and walked down the hall of her cloud house. When she opened the door she found a huge hot air balloon with a pink Earth pony in it.

"Hiyah Dashie!" the pony said in a high pitch, hyper-ish, kinda annoying tone. "I just wanted you to know that there's some new ponies in town! And I'm hosting a welcome party for them! "

"Well, who are they Pinkie? Anypony important?" Dash said, still rubbing her eyes to get the remaining eye crust off.

"Oh, it's just a couple of colts. Nothing that interesting, for you at least." Pinkie said with a giggle. "So, you wanna come?"

"Yeah, yeah, i'll go..." Dash said sadly. That last part hit harder than Pinkie knew, or would ever suspect. Luckily, Pinkie didn't think why Dash sounded sad. Which was damn lucky for Dash.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said with a smile. "Well, I have hurry back to the Sugarcube Corner and prepare everything. Wanna help out?" Dash shook her head. Her emotions had gotten to her again.

"No, i'm busy with other things. I'll be there for sure though." Pinkie nodded and with that left the pegisi's house. Dash watched one of her good friends slowly glide away and then slammed the door shut. A single tear slowly rolled down her cheek. "Why? Why do they all assume!" she thought. It was always the same with everypony. They just assume she's only a filly fooler, even though she had done nothing to suggest that! The only thing that she could think of that may be the reason was her hanging out with Gilda so much. But even then her friends should know better. Or maybe it was because her mane was rainbow coloured... Who knows. "Better get ready for that stupid party..." she said silently and began her morning.

The three walked down the dirt path to Ponyville, where they would deliver the special package that they risked their lives for. Zecora stopped us from walking across a patch of blue flowers. "Watch where you step, pony folk. Or feel the wrath of Poison Joke." she warned us. Brother and Eli exchanged glances, both saying 'what in Celestia's name?'

"Uh, alright. Thank you Zecora." Brother replied along with a nod.

"Poison wha-? Whatever." Eli said, leaping over the small patch cautiously. Brother looked at Eli and shook his head, showing a bit dissapointment.

"Shouldn't be so rude. She is our guide and she helped us avoid these odd plant. If ya don't know what it does, that's more the reason to avoid it." he said 'mater-of-factly'. He walked around it with Zecora and met up with Eli. He sighed at Brother for acting all leadery.

"Ponyville is getting near, it should be not far from here" Zecora interupted the two. They nodded and followed. She was right. Within minutes they where in the busy town of Ponyville, home to the ponies that can wield the Elements of Harmony. Pegasi flew by over head, unicorns were working on various things, and earth ponies were by food stands, selling their harvest. A bright pink earth pony walked up to Zecora and asked them who were the colts following her. "These are new ponies to Ponyville, i'm sure they might cause quite a thrill." And just as pridicted, the bright pink mare jumped up, gasping, and ran off. Zecora laughed and said "Hurry my friends, we have much to see before this day ends." Brother and Eli exhanced the 'what in Celestia's name?' glance once again and went on. Zecora took them on a lengthy tour of the town, showing them every building from the post office to the train station and even to the pretty famous farm, Sweet Apple Aches. The sun was setting by the time they where directed to a small place apparently called Sugarcube Corner. "In here some ponies await, but make sure that you are not too late!"she said advertantly.

"Yeah, thank you Zecora." Brother said with exhaustion. His hooves were getting tired from all the walking around they did and longed for a nice seat.

"Well, let's not keep them waiting!" Eli said with much enthusiasm. Brother magic'd the door open and there sat five ponies. A bright pink pony, the same they saw before, with a smile on her face, a purple unicorn mare with a book levitated in front of her, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane that looked pretty bored, a white unicorn who looked up from a fashion magazine and oddly seemed to instantly check Brother out, and pink tail that connected to a yellow flank coming from behind a table. Brother and Eli were suprized to see they group of mares greet them.

"Uh, hello everypony," Brother said as he walked in slowly, along with Eli, with a smile on, "i'm Brother Brave, and this is my friend Emerald Night." he acknowledged with a nod. The purple unicorn put down her book and cleared her throat.

"Hello, i'm Twilight Sparkle. This is Pinkie Pie," the unicorn said as she gestured to the pink pony, now bursting with energy as she tried not to jump into the air once again. Her wide grin actually creeped them out just a tad bit, "Rainbow Dash," the cyan pegasus nodded and said 'Sup?', "Rarity," the white unicorn kept her eyes on Brother. Eli smiled and nugged him.

"Looks like somepony already has a crush on you." Brother shook his head, actually kinda embarresed.

"And Fluttershy," the pink tail and yellow flank made the cutest squeek Brother or Eli have ever heard when her name got called. "Our other friend will be back shortly" and as if it was all planed, an orange earth pony with a beige cowboy hat walked out of a doorway that lead to what seemed like a kitchen. She carried a plate of cookies and set them down on the table the mares were sitting at. She looked up and saw the new comers. But her reaction was something way different. She rubbed her eyes and blinked in disbelief. She stared directly at Brother along with Eli, only his face was more 'why is she looking at you like that?'. Her face went to a small smile and she slowly walked to him. "Well ah'll be. Never thought ah'd see you for a while."

"Uh, excuse me?" Brother asked. He had never seen this mare in his life. Though, oddly enough, she had the same coat and mane as his friend from long ago. Wait... Suddenly he gasped and face hoofed himself for not putting one and one together. "That's right! You're that filly I was friends with a long time ago!" He was excited that he had reunited with the only friend he had as a foal.

"You do realize ah have a name suga cube." the mare said as she went to hug her old friend. Brother blushed a crimson red for forgetting her name.

"Uh, yeah, but it's been like, eleven years. Kinda forgot it." he chuckled, "Sorry." His grin widened as his blush darkened. The mare shook her head with a smile on her face.

"Always forgetful," she mumbled, "Ahm Applejack, remember?" Yet another hoof met Brother's face.

"Man, it sure has been a long time since we last saw each other." Brother said after recovering from his own stupidity. "I actually thought I wouldn't see you again! What happened?" She looked sad all of a sudden. As if he was stabbing a very soft subject for her.

"Ah know it was bad of me for not tellin' ya, but ah needed tha farm and it needed me. Ah hope ya can forgive me." Applejack said. She sniffed and a tear rolled down her face. "Ah know it ain't really of me to be cryin' but after what you done for me back then with those thugs, and then me leavin' you all alone, it was terrible of me." Brother put a hoof around her neck and smiled warmly.

"Hey, it's alright. You had a legitimate reason to leave. I would've understood." Applejack returned the smile and put on a bright happy face.

"Yeah, ahm sure you would've. But right now isn't the time to be sad. As Pinky would say, it's time to party!" She broke away from Brother's arm and started to put on a dance song. It was a 'd'aww' worthy moment between the two but with the music, plus Pinky's sudden jump onto the empty floor where they were to dance, the sadness was replaced with happiness.

After coming out of a 'what just happened' trance, Eli went outside and took off the bandages that covered his one wing. He extended them and flapped lightly. He planned to bring his wing back to full strength by doing a quick loop around Ponyville when he heard the faint cry of a mare. Eli had no idea where it came from so he lauched into the air to check it out. He flew around the sweet shop, only too see the pegasus named 'Raindow Dash' huddled behind the store, crying. He gently decended infront of her pegasus, not making a single sound as he touched the ground. "Dash, was it? Rainbow Dash?" he said to her. She lifted her head and looked at him with redend eyes.

"Y-yeah." she sniffed, wipeing away some tears, "What about me?" Dash suddenly snapped. Eli examined her facial features more carefully now. She seemed oddly familier. But from where? His memory hit him like a train. Flight school!

"I think I remember a Rainbow Dash in flight school. She pulled off the Sonic Rainboom that got me this." he said, pointing a hoof to his cutie mark.

"F-flight school? In Cloudsdale? W-what did you say your name was?" She said, wiping more tears off of her cheek.

"Emerald Night, at your service!" he said cocking a smile. She giggled, only to burst into more tears. "What's wrong Dash?" he asked.

"E-everyone I know thinks I'm a filly fooler, ever since I would hang out with Gilda in flight school." she stated, unloading another sob. _"Oh right, Gilda."_ he cringed at the thought.

"Well dash, are you a filly fooler?" he said, tilting his head.

"No!" She yelled, sudden anger in her eyes. But it quickly faded. "Well, yeah. But I like colts... I don't know, it's stupid." she said, looking away.

"Then why do your frie- wait, have you ever dated a colt?"

"Well, no."

"Then that's why they do. They don't know that you like colts because they've never seen you with one!" he hoof hit the ground in a eureka moment.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Thank you!" she said as she glomped Eli. Struggling to breath, he managed to say

"No problem." But then Dash's happiness was drained out of her.

"How am I going to find a coltfriend?" Emerald laughed,

"I have no idea. But here's a tip, make sure he's your friend first. Just starting off as coltfriend and marefriend is kinda awkward." Dash nodded. Eli put on another grin and and held a hoof out to her. "C'mon, we better get back to the party."

It was well into the night when the two colts made their way to a hotel to spend the night. The party had been very fun, even the pegasus Fluttershy left her hiding spot to join her friends. But before leaving the Sugercube Corner, Twilight had noticed Eli's saddle bag and asked him what he was carrying. He remembered the package and took it out, hoping that maybe one of these mares might who's the owner. When he pulled it out he read the tag, to his and Twilight's surprise, it was to her. She jumped for joy and ripped the package out of Eli's grasp. Apparently, it was an extremely rare book that she had heard about and asked the Princess herself if she could buy it for her so that she may study it. Once the payment was made Twilight galloped out of the store and went home. After seeing how late it was the others did the same except for Pinkie Pie, who just went up a flight of stairs. Applejack offered Brother a night at Sweet Apple Aches but denied it. He was Eli's bodyguard and he had to make sure no filly mugged him. Eli death stared him before exiting the store too. Brother chuckled and was about to do the same Applejack pulled him back to her. She wanted to thank him once again for getting her out of that situation back then. Brother told her to stop thanking him, that she already paid him back for being his only friend. They exchanged another hug and he was off. Applejack closed the door behind her and walked the opposite way. She thought deeply about Brother. She had liked him ever since he saved her, yet she could never show it. They were a year apart, Brother being younger. Not only that but they way he looks now, even Rarity was checking him out. She sighed and hit her hoof against her head many times. How could she be so shy? Before she could think anymore she was already home.

Eli was given bits to rent a hotel for a week so that he could received another package. Once he gave the pony the bits needed and took the room key, the duo went to their hotel room, quickly found their beds, and fell asleep. Or, at least Eli did. Brother began to think about that day. He was reunited with his only friend back when he was a foal. And not only that but now she was extremely pretty. Coupled with her accent and what he remembered of her personality from back then she seemed great marefriend material. Only thing was that he wasn't sure she even liked him. She was a year older then him and the odds of rejection were high. _"If you don't know what'll happen, that's more the reason to not do it."_ he thought. But the feeling for her kept growing, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. It was maybe an hour before he was able to finally fall asleep. Though, his last thoughts were of him and Applejack, snuggling by a fire after a cold winter's day.


End file.
